Making money from commercial cannabis is BAD

Making money from commercial cannabis is BAD

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Recently, this sentiment is what many people on social media could be interpreted as saying. The majority of us need to earn a living, and most people would not consider that bad. However, what I believe is at the core of the anti-MSO sentiment, and the question each of us in the cannabis marketplace should be asking ourselves is:

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Is our profit coming at a morally questionable price?

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This then introduces another set of complex issues like “whose morals?” or “how much is too much profit?”

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At the end of the day, we all need to lay our heads down and be able to sleep at night. So each one of us has to determine our level of comfort with the decisions we make in life and in our business endeavors.

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People might complain about the previous sentence with statements like “so only the people with no morals are going to be successful because the rest of us aren’t being greedy?” or “If I don’t use every possible advantage or loophole, someone else will.”

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To that I would say 3 things. 1- It depends on what you call “successful.” Making piles of money isn’t necessarily successful. 2- There will always be a portion of the market for those who do “the right thing” (as long as they deliver a quality product or service with excellent customer service.”) 3- Those who are truly bad players with nefarious intent won’t last forever. Just look at Big Tobacco or the hegemony that has suppressed cannabis over the last 90 years. It may take a while, but mal-intent doesn’t last forever.

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I don’t believe my morals should be everyone else’s morals, but I think I align well with most people who have healthy empathy towards their fellow humans. I would suggest that to survive in this market, long-term, MSOs or Big Cannabis would be wise to look at some of the practices running rampant in legal markets that are contributing to the larger corporations developing a bad name for themselves and potentially the industry as a whole. Some of these less-than-honorable practices that bother me include:

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Using employees as inanimate objects. The process of churning and burning through employees at a high turnover rate, with little resources spent on employee engagement, satisfaction, and retention is ultimately costly and isn’t sustainable. The negative social feedback from inside (current and former employees) will couple with negative social feedback from outside (consumers, government orgs., advocacy groups) to sour any brand eventually.

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Less than honest advertising. Marketing product with false or misleading packaging/advertising isn’t admired by most people and just ins’t wise for long-term growth. Once people realize they have been tricked, your brand will become the enemy. This is 2X for those that simulate packaging to entice minors. I would also say this applies to misleading investors as well.

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Circumventing the spirit of regulations. If you don’t agree with a policy, then work to fight that policy. It’s not OK to say “that policy is b*** s***” and defy the policy. Where would our world be if everyone did that? This goes for licensing opportunities and acceptance, compliance and testing requirements, building and safety codes, and any other regulations set to make an even playing field for businesses and a safe playing field for consumers. Additionally, if you are making inside deals to acquire market shares that exclude others, especially small businesses, you will eventually acquire the wrath of the industry. Why make enemies when you can make partners?

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Cutting corners. There is a difference between being thrifty and eliminating components or conditions the consumer believes they are getting. This ties into the dishonest advertising point, but should be considered independently. If your brand is being the cheapest product, that’s great; there is a market for that. But not producing a product or service that customers think they are getting is dishonest. I made flautas last night and the pack of tortillas said “10 count.” The package only had 9. This may have been an honest mistake, but I wondered how much money the company would save if they only put 9 tortillas in 1 out of every 10 packages??? Someone once gave me wise business advice: “You can’t save yourself into prosperity.”

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Using the appearance of altruism to grow profit. Donating or facilitating donations to non-profits, making token gestures to social equity campaigns, or sponsoring small businesses (with the intent to absorb those businesses) and using those actions in your marketing or as part of your brand borders on unethical. There are subtle differences between holding campaigns for a charity and celebrating the successes of the campaign with those involved is much different than sending out constant social media blasts about what you have done and using the events to purposefully draw new business. If you are authentic in giving back to your community, those to whom it matters will eventually find out. If you are disingenuous in your actions, those to whom it matters will also find out.

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There are other general and specific practices or philosophies of Big Cannabis businesses that at least rub many people the wrong way and at worst border on fraud.

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What could Big Cannabis businesses do differently that might change your perception of them being adversaries to being potential partners or favorites? Leave your comments in the notes (really, I want to hear)!!!